Driver charged after man crushed in fatal Manhattan crash

EAST HARLEM, Manhattan (PIX11) — A speedy driver is accused of killing a man after crashing into a truck that crushed the victim on a Manhattan street Monday afternoon, police said.

Angel Melendez, 51, was charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, acting in a manner injurious to a child, and reckless endangerment, according to the NYPD.

Melendez was allegedly speeding in a Mercedes when he ran a red light and crossed lanes before crashing into a concrete island and a parked motorcycle near East 105th Street and First Avenue in East Harlem around 3:50 p.m., police said. The driver also hit a parked Chevy Tahoe that careened into 51-year-old Nadjari Reid, killing him.

The pedestrian suffered severe leg injuries and was rushed to the hospital, but could not be saved, authorities said. Witnesses told PIX11 News Reid, who lived close by, pushed someone out of harm’s way moments before the crash.

“This is just hard for me to believe,” a neighbor told PIX11 News on Monday. “We just had his birthday on July Fourth. We had a nice party for him.”

There were five vehicles involved in the incident, including a 2007 Infiniti that a 50-year-old man was sitting in, police said. The man suffered minor injuries.

Prosecutors said Melendez was caught on a surveillance camera from East 96th Street driving at a “high rate of speed in a reckless manner, veering between lanes and driving in bus-only designated lanes.”

The driver remained at the scene and was taken to the hospital to be treated for his injuries. Melendez had a 14-year-old boy in the car with him at the time of the crash, cops said.

Melendez was arraigned Tuesday evening and held on $500,000 bail.

Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the NYC area for more than a decade. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here.

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